


Haunted House

by bigpinkbaguette



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:33:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28021716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bigpinkbaguette/pseuds/bigpinkbaguette
Summary: Amity, Luz, and Willow spend a girls' night at the Owl House, but find themselves being pursued by an unknown force after the lights cut out.
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 3
Kudos: 55





	Haunted House

“You’ll never get past me!” I gritted my teeth and dug my feet into the ground, my gaze fixed on my opponent as she stood about ten feet ahead of me. 

“Wanna bet, Blight?” She sneered in response. 

“We may have once been friends, Noceda…” I glared directly into her eyes, readying my flame spell. “But you’ve committed the ultimate betrayal. Now, I will be forced to show you my true power. Goodbye, Luz.” I closed my eyes and prepared to unleash the full potential of my strength. 

“Wait! Amity!” My enemy called out to me. “We don’t need to fight! We can talk this out!” 

I chuckled to myself. “Classic Luz. Always trying to resolve things peacefully, acting all lovey-dovey. That won’t work this time, Noceda. Not on me. I’ve seen who you really are.” 

Luz slowly approached me, reaching into her back pocket to return the rune card she had begun preparing for her next attack. She inched towards me with her palms out. 

“Back off!” I raised my voice slightly. “You don’t know what I’m capable of!” 

Luz stepped closer, and I tensed as she wrapped her arms around me in a gentle embrace. 

“Luz! What are you-?” I began to protest. 

Luz tightened her arms around me. “You’re a good friend, Amity. I would never hurt you. I’m sorry I stole your cookie. It was wrong of me. I won’t do it again.” 

I relaxed and returned the hug. “You’re a good friend, too, Luz.” I winced. “I accept your apology.” 

Luz released me and stepped back. “Now…” she started, “There is one thing left for me to do.” 

I watched as she lowered herself onto one knee and reached into her back pocket. 

“No!” I shouted upon the sudden realization of what she was doing. I dashed forward to knock her away, but she was far too quick. 

Luz slapped the rune card onto the ground and shouted “Hasta luego, sucker!” She was immediately propelled forward with excessive speed, and she threw the makeshift ball into the poorly-made temporary goal posts we’d set up. Unable to stop myself, I crashed onto the ground. 

“Curse you, Noceda!” I shouted to the sky in mock agony. “Curse you and your- your cute, round ears and human charm!” 

Luz retrieved the ball and made her way back to the small field we had set up. She shouted “Woo!” and high-fived Willow, who did not share her enthusiasm. 

“Was that whole… scene really necessary?” Willow asked as Luz stepped to my side and flopped on her back in the grass near where I had fallen. “After all, it’s not like Amity was actually playing. She’s still hurt- she was literally just standing there.” 

I flushed slightly, but Luz answered “Absolutely. I say we did a good job, didn’t we, Amity?” 

I chuckled nervously. “S- sure, I guess.” 

Willow pinched the bridge of her nose, clearly disappointed with our dramatization of the small grudgby practice game. “I swear, I’m the straightest person on this field. And that’s saying something, considering I have two dads. Any more of this and people are going to start thinking you’re, you know, a thing.” 

“Aww, come on, Amity and I were just playin’. Right, Amity?” Luz sat up cross-legged and nudged me with her elbow. 

“Um… Right, I, uh…” I stammered. 

“Hey kids!” Eda called from the house. “Lovely little play you’ve got goin’ on, but we’ve got a nasty storm comin’. I’d suggest packin’ your stuff and bringin’ it inside before you bunch of eggheads get yourselves hard-boiled.” 

King’s laugh came from inside the house. “Ha-HA! I see what you did there!” The miniature demon poked out from behind Eda and pointed at us. “Eggheads!” He shouted, before laughing diabolically. 

“And aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?” Eda eyed me suspiciously. 

“I am! I promise! I just, uh…” I patted the ground around me. “The grass is awfully nice here, huh?” 

“Just makin’ sure you’re okay, kid. You get hurt, and your parents’ll be after me. More so than they already are!” The Owl Lady snort-laughed at her own remark. 

“She’ll be fine.” Luz argued in my defense. “She’s a tough girl. Besides, she’s got me to help her.” She sprung up and grasped my hand before I had time to protest. 

I heaved myself up, using Luz as a support. I almost fell forward onto her, but managed to keep myself up by grasping her shoulder with my other hand. 

“Whoa there, be careful.” Luz giggled. “You might be tough, but I’m a fragile human. You gotta be careful around me or I’ll break.” 

“Yeah, okay, whatever.” I blushed furiously and let go of her hand, attempting to gain my footing well enough to walk on my own. 

“Not so fast, buddy. You’re still hurt, and I’m gonna help you.” Luz pushed herself under my arm and began assisting me as we limped our way back to the Owl House. 

Willow had already taken down the goal posts and set them on the porch. She picked up my crutches and held the door open for us. 

As soon as we stepped in and Willow shut the door, King scrambled to us and climbed onto Luz’s arm. “Your game had a disappointing lack of bloodshed.” He observed. 

Luz laughed. “We were mostly just playing around. Also, Amity’s still hurt.” She reminded him. 

“Bloodshed! Bloodshed!” King chanted, throwing his arms up in the air and falling off of Luz. He hit the floor with a small thud, and Eda laughed. 

Luz joined her, and I chuckled nervously. 

“Hey! What are you laughing at?” The tiny demon shouted, exasperated. “You’re supposed to be trembling with fear!” 

Eda was the last to stop laughing. “King, you already know that neither Luz nor her friends have any reason to fear you.” 

King kicked the grudgby ball we’d left on the floor. It rolled a few feet before bouncing off the wall and stopping at King’s feet. “Nyeh!” He kicked the ball once more and stormed off. Luz, Eda, Willow and I watched him go. A few seconds later, we heard a thud, a crash, and a surprised cry from up the stairs. 

“I’d better go make sure he doesn’t destroy anything.” Eda suggested, dashing across the room and up the stairs. 

“I’ll go, too!” Willow volunteered setting my crutches on the floor before turning and following her up. 

Luz and I stood there for a few split seconds before I suddenly blurted, “You can go, too. I’ll be fine down here.” 

Luz shook her head. “It’s okay. You don’t have to be alone. This is supposed to be a girls’ night, remember? We’re spending time together.” 

We lumbered to the couch and she set me down before sitting next to me. We sat in silence for several minutes. 

I took in a deep breath before starting. “Luz, I have something I want to te-” 

Another crash came from up the stairs, cutting me off. Willow called. “Luz! A little help, here!” 

Luz sighed and turned to me. “I’m so sorry. I’ll be right back.” 

“I, uh… okay!” I stammered and felt my cheeks and ears heat up. 

“Thanks for understanding.” Luz hugged me before turning and making her way to the stairs. “Coming!” she shouted. 

I was left alone in the living room. I swore and kicked the table. “Dang it, Amity!” I scolded myself. “You were so close! So close to being able to tell her how you feel. You won’t get another chance like that all night!” I paused and grumbled to myself. “Not like anything would change. Sure, she danced with me that one night. But it’s clear… It’s clear she only sees me as a friend. Just like Willow, and Gus… She would have danced with either of them, if they’d been scared of the same thing I was. Except they wouldn’t be, because I’m the idiot with the crush on the human!” 

I winced as I heard yet another crash and thud, followed by a shout from Luz and a shout of rage, which I assumed came from King. 

Slowly, it started raining. It occurred to me that there was no way of telling how long the rain would go on, and it was already late afternoon. I sighed angrily and leaned back. 

The front door opened, and I gasped. “Who’s there?” 

“Hoot, hoot!” I heard the high-pitched voice and groaned as I remembered what that meant. 

Hooty poked his head around and in the door. “Greetings, friend!” 

I picked up the nearest somewhat threatening item (which happened to be Eda’s staff) and swung it out in front of me. “What do you want from me?” 

Hooty flinched back before saying, “Well, I couldn’t help but notice that you were talking to yourself-” 

I gasped. “How much did you hear?” I inquired apprehensively, lowering the staff. 

“Uh…” He cleared his throat nervously. “The entire part about you having a crush on Luz and not knowing how you’re going to admit your fee-” 

I leaped up and fell forward onto Hooty in an attempt to shut him up. “Shh!” I scolded him. “Everyone’s going to hear!” 

As if on cue, Luz called down from up the stairs. “Everything alright down there, Amity?” 

“Just dandy!” I called back up, quite possibly with too much enthusiasm. 

Suddenly, King bounced down the stairs, grasping on to an empty glass bottle. He stopped at the bottom and held it into the air threateningly. Luz rounded the corner. 

“King, no!” She cried, clearly not paying attention to me grasping on to Hooty in the middle of the living room. 

“Ha-HA!” King shouted. “That’s right! Beg, human! Grovel! Fear my strength!” 

Eda walked up behind Luz. “King, if you break that, you’re sleeping out in the rain tonight.” 

Willow caught up to the other two and cried, “Amity, let go of Hooty!” 

Eda seemingly suddenly noticed Hooty and I. “Is Hooty being annoyi-” 

Luz cried out and lunged at King, snatching the bottle from his tiny claws and almost crushing him in the process. “I got it!” She held the bottle up in the air. 

She picked herself up, and King remained sitting on the floor. He started breathing heavily, increasing in speed and volume with every breath. 

“Oh, boy.” Eda grinned. “Here we go.” 

King unleashed a high-pitched squeal of rage that lasted through the next several seconds. 

Everyone in the room broke down into giggles, with the exception of Hooty, who physically could not due to my hand covering his beak, and of course, King, who was frustrated as ever. 

After this collective laughing fit, Luz wiped a tear from her eye and looked at Hooty. “Hey, Hooty. I didn’t know you were here.” 

“Technically,” Willow raised a finger, “Hooty’s always here.” 

“You know what I mean. What brings you here?” Luz asked him. 

He shoved his face out of my hand and began answering, “Well, I was-” 

I interrupted him with a sharp glare. “He was just checking on me. Isn’t that right, Hooty?” 

Hooty gulped and nodded. “Hoot, hoot! That’s right.” 

“That’s good to know!” Luz piped up. “Thanks, Hooty!” 

“N- no problem!” He pushed me back onto the couch and quickly moved back to his original spot, shutting the door. 

I shivered. “I see Hooty in my nightmares.” 

“And I’m sure the feeling is mutual.” Eda snort-laughed at her own joke. 

“Aww, that’s not nice,” Willow settled herself on the couch. “But it’s probably true.” 

I ignored these remarks. “What’s his deal, anyway?” 

Luz jumped up and gasped. “What if he has some tragic backstory?” 

“Luz…” Willow started. 

“No, no, I’m actually curious.” I interrupted. “I want to see where she’s going with this.” 

Luz didn’t need any encouragement to elaborate on this. “What if… what if he’s a lost soul trapped inside an inanimate object, and he just hasn’t told us about it?” 

Willow raised a finger. “That’s highly unlikely. It wouldn’t explain at all why he’s able to speak.” 

“It’s magic, Willow!” Luz countered. 

“I’m just saying that magic has its limitations, that’s all.” 

“But like…” I interjected, “What if?” 

“I’ll bet Eda knows.” Willow suggested. 

We all looked at Eda expectantly. 

Eda was fiddling with her staff when she looked up at us. She simply shrugged. 

“Tragic or not, Hooty has to have SOME sort of backstory.” Luz concluded. 

We all nodded in agreement. 

Suddenly, all of the lights in the house turned off. 

This earned mixed reactions from everyone in the room. Willow sighed as King and Luz shouted in alarm, holding on to one another. Eda’s expression remained unchanged, and I simply tensed. 

“King, will you go into the storage closet by the stairs and get the lanterns?” Eda asked dully. 

“Nope! I’m not taking one step into that cursed wasteland!” 

“Aww!” Luz cuddled the little demon. “Wittle King’s afwaid of the dark!” 

“I am not!” King protested, desperately clawing his way out of Luz’s grasp. He stood on the floor and looked up at Luz. “I am the King of darkness!” He declared. “I do not fear it!” 

“Yeah, he’s definitely afraid.” I challenged. 

“Am not!” 

“Are, too!” 

“I am not!” He stomped his foot on the ground with a soft thud. He turned to Eda. “I, the King of Demons, will retrieve the lanterns!” He thrusted a single raised claw into the air. 

A flash of light illuminated the room for a split second, followed by a loud, electric crackling. King let out a blood-curdling scream, and we all laughed at him. 

“Nyeh!” He stomped his foot once more. “I’ll show you! I’ll show all of you! I am truly fearless!” 

“Yeah, sure.” I countered. 

“You, too, green-haired one!” He pointed at me. “You should fear me. I shall destroy you upon my return.” 

He stomped off and up the stairs, grumbling to himself. 

“What do you think happened?” Luz inquired. 

“Never been in a power outage, kid?” Eda asked. 

Luz silenced. 

Suddenly, we heard a loud thud from near the closet, but we couldn’t see the source. 

King screamed. “Be gone, unholy thing! Be gone, or I shall-!” 

His voice cut off. 

“King?” Luz called. “King, are you okay up there?” 

There was no response. 

We all looked at Eda, whose expression was rather difficult to read, considering it was incredibly dark. 

“King? Buddy, are you okay? Do I need to come get you?” Eda called. 

There was still no response. 

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Eda sighed and stood up. We all watched carefully as she made her way up the stairs. She turned the corner, and it was almost immediately after she left our field of vision that she gasped in alarm. “Hey, who are- whup!” 

There was another length of silence. 

Luz began to panic. “Eda? King?” She called. 

Yet again, there was no reply. 

Luz stood up to go look for them, but I grabbed her arm. “No! Luz, whatever’s up there is obviously waiting for one of us at a time.” 

Willow agreed. “We might not be able to stop it, but we can delay it if we stay together.” 

“Yup. So please, Luz…” I pulled her back to me. “Stay here so we can make a plan.” 

Luz nodded and reluctantly sat back. “So… what’re we gonna do?” 

The first idea came from Willow. “I’d say the most obvious choice would be to go up there all together, but even then, there’s no way to be sure all three of us are here. 

I patted around the floor. “I can’t find my crutches.” 

“Besides, Amity’s not quite… fit for walking in the dark at the moment.” She added. 

“I’ll be fine. You can leave me here.” 

“Well, if you ins-” Willow started. 

“No!” Luz cried. “I mean… it’ll be fine! I can… I can walk with her.” 

“I’ll just slow you down!” I protested. 

“But if you stay,” Luz turned to face me, “Then I will, too. I’m not leaving you behind.” 

“Luz, that’s sweet, but-” 

“No buts, Blight!” She scolded, before pushing herself under my arm and heaving us up. “Willow, if you help me carry her, then we’ll all be touching one another and we’ll be able to keep track of each other that way. Got it?” 

Willow didn’t say anything, but I assumed she agreed, because I felt her at my side. “Let’s go.” 

We started slowly making our way up the stairs. At one point, my foot caught one of the steps and all three of us almost fell down the stairs. 

“We really should have left her.” Willow groaned. “She’d probably still be fine. You said it yourself, Luz. She’s a tough girl. Besides, whatever took Eda and King is up here, not down there. We really could do without her.” 

“Don’t say that, Willow!” Luz replied defensively. “We’ll be fine.” 

“No, no. She’s right. I really am a burden.” I added. 

“Someone gets it.” Willow deadpanned. 

Luz groaned, annoyed. “Stop that!” 

We had made our way to the closet when we heard the first set of pattering. 

“What was that?” Luz whispered apprehensively. “I swear, something just tapped the wall.” 

“It could be what’s left over of the rain,” Willow suggested. “Because to me, it sounded like it came from above us.” 

“I thought it was on the floor…” I added. 

We heard it again. This time, closer. 

“Yeah, no, it’s definitely the floor.” Willow observed. 

I tensed. “It sounds like tiny footsteps.” 

The footsteps came again, even closer. Willow squeaked. 

“What is it, Willow?” Luz whispered. 

“Something just touched my leg!” 

I could barely hear Willow’s answer, and it took me several seconds before I recognized her voice. “Why are we whispering? Whatever it is already knows that we’re here.” 

“It just seems fitting!” Luz replied. 

I couldn’t argue with that. 

Luz slowly opened the storage closet, widening the crack in it so we could see. 

“See, it’s alright.” Willow sighed, relieved. She let go of me. 

“Willow…” Luz hissed. 

Suddenly, a figure leaped out of the closet. I screamed, and Luz held on tighter to me. It pushed the two of us into the closet and shut the door. Willow started banging the door. “Guys, open u-” 

Both the banging and her voice cut off, exactly the same way that Eda and King’s had. 

“I’ll get you, human.” There was a new voice, but something about it seemed familiar. It sounded like many voices, in fact. Many voices, all synchronized perfectly. 

My heart sank. It wanted Luz! 

“Willow!” Luz cried. She attempted to open the door, but couldn’t. She turned to me. 

“What is it?” I asked, horrified. 

“We’re locked in.” 

“You’re joking.” 

“I’m not.” Her voice cracked. 

“Is there even a lock on those doors?” 

“No, it’s not like that.” Luz replied, her voice shaking. “Something’s stopping it from opening. I can’t push it.” 

“Help me up.” 

“O- okay…” Luz whimpered, grabbing on to my hand. 

She pulled me up, and I leaned against the door, twisting the doorknob. I rammed my shoulder against it a few times, but the door showed no signs of weakening. I performed a quick light spell so it was easier to see. 

“Here, let’s try together.” Luz offered. I moved to the side a bit and allowed her to assist me. After a few good tries, we gave up. Luz moved to the back of the closet and curled up, her head in her knees. 

I lumbered over and sat next to her. “So… any more ideas?” 

Luz sobbed. 

“Oh, Luz…” I scooted closer and patted her back. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find Willow… and King, and Eda. We’ll find whoever did this.” Even as I said this, I wasn’t sure. “We can’t lose hope.” 

Luz mumbled something. 

“What was that?” I leaned closer. 

“It should have been me.” She repeated louder. 

I didn’t know how to respond. 

“When the door was closed behind us…” Luz picked up her head and ran her fingers through her hair. “Did you hear what it said?” 

“Luz, there’s no way we could have known it was after y-” 

“If I’d been one of the first… It might have left everyone else alone.” 

“It isn’t your f-” 

“If it hadn’t been for me, Eda, King, and Willow would be okay.” Luz interrupted me once more. 

I couldn’t take it anymore. I took her face in both of my hands and turned her so she was forced to look into my eyes. 

“Luz, stop that. It’s not like you.” I scolded her gently. “We’ll stay here ‘til morning, and when we get out, whoever took our friends will have to pay. But for right now, all we can do is hope. None of that self-deprecating mindset.” 

Luz sniffed and let out a tearful giggle. “Just a few minutes ago, you were the one talking about being a burden to those around you.” 

“What can I say?” I grinned. “Someone has to be the optimist here.” 

Luz pulled a card from her pocket and placed it face-up in her palm. A light rune, I recalled. She activated it, and an orb of light drifted up into the air next to mine. 

“Do you ever realize how pretty those are?” She asked me, taking out another rune drawing and lighting it. This one was ever so slightly larger. 

“The light spells?” I asked, “I mean, I’ve never really paid much attention to it. I guess I’ve seen them pretty much all my life.” 

“Maybe it’s just me.” Luz replied thoughtfully. “I mean, they’re not like anything we have at home. Sure, we have lightbulbs, but it’s just not the same, you know?” 

I nodded, despite the fact that I didn’t quite understand it. Luz could find the beauty in the most common of things, a trait I could only dream of having. 

I watched as she lit a few more light runes. Eventually, when she ran out, she turned to me and said, “That’s all I’ve got.” 

We watched the orbs drift around in the open air. I counted nine total. 

“They’re kind of like stars, if you think about it.” Luz observed. 

I lifted one of my hands and created a few light spells myself, adding to the collection. “I can see that.” I agreed. 

I conjured more and more orbs, which floated in the air above and around us. In the end, there were nineteen. We gazed proudly at the collection we’d created, almost like kids in the sandbox, proudly presenting their haphazardly piled mound of sand to their playmates and insisting that it is, in fact, a sandcastle. Except there were no playmates. It was just Luz and I, creating our own sky full of stars and sharing this brief moment of calmness that the chaos of the evening had allowed. 

My mind screamed at me to say something to Luz, but I couldn’t find it in me. I knew I would scold myself later; this was the opportunity I needed, I just… couldn’t find the words. It was the perfect time, and I was rendered speechless. 

“Amity?” Luz leaned into my side and I felt my face heat up. “I really like you. You know that, right?” 

I chuckled nervously. “Yeah, you, um, tell me I’m a good friend all the time.” 

“No, not like that.” Luz shook her head. “Do you ever… like, like someone a whole lot, and want to tell them, but you’re too scared because once you do, there’s no going back and… their view on you will be changed forever?” 

“You have no idea.” I was still trying to wrap my mind around what she was saying. 

“But do I?” 

I stopped and held my breath, unable to respond. 

“See, Amity…” She started, “The moment we met, I’d ruled you out as one of the bad guys. You acted so awful to Willow and I. Snobbish, even.” 

“That’s… understandable.” I admitted. “Look, I-” 

“But that’s not all. I don’t know, something about you… something told me that there was a lot more going on. Something that made you different from Boscha and the rest of her little clique.” She paused. “Guess I was right. Underneath the whole top-student, little-miss-perfect act is someone who cares. Someone who cares a lot.” 

“Makes you wonder what else I’ve got hidden from you.” I muttered with a bitter edge. 

“It wasn’t that hard to figure out.” Luz replied, much to my surprised. 

I was thrown off slightly. “What?” 

“I mean… that night we danced...” Luz started. 

“Grom night?” I recalled. It hadn’t been that long ago. 

“Yeah. Grom night.” She smiled fondly at the memory, though at the time, we’d both been horrified. “Remember the form it took when it confronted you?” 

I hesitated, then nodded silently. How could I forget? The confrontation had been the single most horrifying thing I’d ever experienced- not just the fear itself, but the fact that Luz had been at my side when the monster assumed her relative size and shape, just before destroying the note I had written and planned to give to her, asking her to Grom. I had lost courage before I could give it to her, though, which wasn’t all that surprising. 

“Well… it was dark, and I couldn’t see it all that well, but the way you looked at it in shock and embarrassment, and then dejection when it- well, I mean, the point is, I didn’t really want to know who it was. It felt like an invasion of privacy. But then I thought about it a bit more, I realized, well-” 

“It was you.” I admitted under my breath. 

Luz nodded. “And I didn’t want to ask you about it because… gosh, this is gonna sound so silly…” 

“Because you didn’t want to hurt me?” I volunteered. 

She shook her head at this. “No, I mean… I was aware that it could, that just wasn’t the main problem. There was this part of me that felt like, well… I wasn’t sure if I wanted things to change between us. Ignorance is bliss, y’know?” 

“No, I don’t, I-” I stammered. “What do you mean?” 

“What I mean is, we’ve come so far since we first met. I didn’t want to say anything about it because, well, it would add a whole new level of confusion. At least, I knew it would for me. Willow and Gus- well, they had it figured out. They were laughing about the way you acted around the time of the Grudgby match- the one with Boscha, I mean. They thought I was just oblivious,” She winced at this, “when in reality, I didn’t know how to react, I guess. I decided to just… treat you the same way I treated my other friends.” 

“Oh. I guess that’s... I guess that’s understandable.” 

Once more, we briefly sat in silence. 

“You know, I thought you were clueless, too.” I finally added. 

“Hey!” Luz pushed me playfully. 

“No, really!” I continued, “But… looking back now, I realize that maybe I’m the clueless one. After all, you were rather insistent, trying to befriend me and all.” 

“’Befriend’.” Luz repeated, giggling. 

I laughed nervously, and there were several more seconds of awkward silence, before I tried to speak. 

“So uh… um, heck, I- why, uh… can- I really-” I spluttered, still unable to find the words. 

“You, too, Amity.” Luz shifted her position and wrapped her arms around me in a full hug. “You, too.” 

I flushed, and after a few seconds, I shifted, expecting her to pull back. She just held tighter. 

“No, I’m not letting you go. You’re mine.” 

I couldn’t tell if she was joking, and that was fine by me. I returned the embrace. 

We sat like this for a while. The light spells began to fade one by one, but we didn’t bother to make more. We could wait. Someone would have to come looking for us, eventually. Right now, the moment was ours. Maybe I was scared, and maybe, so was she, but that wouldn’t stop us for enjoying this moment of calm quietness. 

After a long time of gripping me as tight as humanly possible, I felt Luz gradually relax in my arms. Her breathing slowed progressively over the next few minutes as she drifted off into sleep. I leaned the side of my head against the storage crate that I was sitting next to and closed my eyes as the last of the light spells dimmed and eventually disappeared. 

Before I could fall asleep, though, I heard a familiar voice. 

“Finally!” The voice announced. “I was getting bored, what with their lack of begging for mercy!” 

“I told you, we’re not trying to assert dominance. Gus says pranks are a human bonding ritual.” A younger-sounding voice came. 

“They’ve been quiet for a while.” A third stated. “I’d be surprised if they weren’t dead in there.” Then came the tell-tale snort-laugh. 

Confused, I opened my eyes to see the still-closed door. However, I could see light shining from the bottom of the door. 

“What the heck?” I whispered. 

The light at the bottom of the door was blocked, and the door opened to reveal Eda at the door with a smug grin. 

Luz started moving. “Who’s there?” She groaned. 

Willow stepped next to Eda, and then King rushed into the closet. 

“Well, isn’t that cute?” King scampered up Luz’s back and onto her head. “I want a hug, too!” He patted his paws on her head. 

Luz chuckled and stood up, picking King up as well. She squeezed the little demon and planted little kisses all over his skull-face. 

I glared at Eda and Willow, who still stood at the door. Eda had a single eyebrow raised at me, while Willow had her arms crossed, her expression so close to matching Eda’s that it was uncanny. 

“Someone’s jealous.” Willow muttered to Eda, loud enough for me to hear. 

My cheeks burned. “I’m not- I-” I spluttered. “What was that all for?” 

I heard loud, running footsteps come up the stairs and almost crash into Eda and Willow. 

Gus pumped his fists in the air. “You just got praaaaaanked!” He announced proudly. 

“Yeah, we did. Good one, guys.” Luz laughed. 

“Wh- what- am I missing something important?” I demanded. 

Gus stood up straight and proudly stated, as if reciting from a script, “In the human world, pranks aren’t just for people you don’t like. Sometimes, people like to play pranks on their friends. It builds trust!” 

“Gus talked us in to playing a prank on you and Luz.” Willow explained. “Well, mostly on Luz, but we figured it’d be hard to talk you into it, so we decided to joke with you, too. Trust me, you’ll look back at this and laugh. I think. Gus said so.” 

“Oh,” I said aloud, then muttered. “I doubt I’ll ever trust any of you again.” 

Luz was still laughing and playing with King. “That was the best prank I have ever witnessed. I’m curious, though… why’d you leave us in there so long?” 

“Hooty said so.” Willow immediately answered. 

I gasped and choked a bit. “That was Hooty’s idea!?” 

“Uh, yeah.” Gus stated. “The whole thing was pretty much planned out by Hooty. He’s brilliant. Once you get to know him, that is.” 

Eda nodded. “He’s also in control of pretty much the whole house, in addition to having access to all of it.” 

“That bird tube is-” I started angrily, before deciding against it. If we hadn’t been in there so long, none of what happened in there would have happened. Thanks to Hooty and Gus’ little “prank,” I was able to have an open, honest conversation with Luz. Was it possible that Hooty had known this all along? Could he perhaps have planned it out to give us the opportunity we needed to have a serious discussion, alone? 

“Let’s get out of here.” Luz suggested, offering me her hand. 

I took it and she pulled me up. “Yeah. I’m growing to dislike this tiny room.” 

King scrambled out before us, and Luz helped me gain my footing so we could get out of there. 

“Luz and Amity, out of the closet at last.” Willow remarked. 

I blushed once again, but Luz simply laughed at the joke. “You know it!” 

We made our way down the stairs. It was much later than I’d expected, but it was alright. I took a seat, and Luz sat by my side. 

As everyone laughed and joked about the prank, I was silent. When the front door opened, almost everyone else ignored it. Hooty poked his head in, and I looked at him with a newfound sense of respect. He winked at me before disappearing once more. 

“Isn’t that right, Amity?” Luz nudged me with her elbow, and I was suddenly made aware of the conversation. 

“Oh, uh…” 

The three others laughed, but Luz seemed concerned. “You alright, Amity?” 

I nodded. “Yeah, I was just… staring off.” 

“Just making sure. It’s okay to say you’re tired; you’ve been up pretty much all night.” Luz assured me. 

“Yeah, I know.” I yawned and laughed. “A few more minutes won’t hurt.” 

“M’kay.” Luz slipped her hand into mine and I let our fingers intertwine. I could feel myself blushing, but simply smiled weakly. 

I felt content. Maybe the prank was a bonding experience; just not in the way Gus had intended. 

The next day 

I gazed straight forward at my enemies as they approached. “You’ll never defeat me, the sworn Guardian of the Goal Posts. My strength is insurmountable!” 

Willow groaned. “Not this again!” 

Gus and Luz glanced at each other. Gus nodded. 

“Move aside, o fabled Guardian, and we will let you live!” Luz called. 

“In your dreams, human.” 

“Fine, then,” Gus grinned. “You do not accept our terms of peace. We will be forced to show you our ultimate form!” 

“Your threats do not phase me, tiny one.” I laughed. 

Luz and Gus looked at each other once more, nodding simultaneously. Luz lowered her body and tossed the ball to Gus, who ran and jumped on her back. Luz stood back up. Their combined heights were taller than myself, but could they hold it together? 

“Onward!” Gus commanded, his arms spread out in a T-pose. Luz started slowly walking forward. 

It felt like several minutes later when the two finally made it to me. I grinned smugly as the figure wobbled and eventually fell over. 

“Haha!” I laughed a prideful laugh. “Even combined, your power does not match mine!” 

“Wanna bet?” Luz muttered as she stood up and dusted off her shorts. 

I tilted my head slightly. “Huh?” 

She inched closer to me, and in a blur, grabbed my hand, pulled me down slightly, and planted a quick kiss on my cheek before letting me go. 

I tensed and felt my entire face heat up. My hand instinctively reached up to the side of my face. 

“Woohoo!” Gus cried as he slammed the ball through the goal. Luz and Gus high-fived. 

“I- I’m-” I spluttered, peeking at Luz and then covering my face in both hands. 

Willow laughed loudly. “That was highly unnecessary, but I loved it!” 

I continued stammering, unable to get a single word out. 

Luz let out a tiny chuckle, then burst into a laughing fit, where she was joined by Gus and Willow. They laughed for several minutes as I continued to have a nervous panic. I’d definitely have to work on that. 

“Glad to see you guys are having fun out there, but I thought I told Amity to use her crutches in the field!” Eda called. 

I hadn’t even noticed that I dropped my crutches, and when I bent down to pick them up, I fell backward. 

This caused Gus and Willow to laugh even louder, while Luz gasped and bent down to help me up. 

“Oh, shoot, are you alright?” Luz asked. 

“Can’t- stand straight!” Was the only sentence I managed to form. 

Luz laughed. “You’re not the only one, Amity.” 

By now, Gus and Willow were in hysterics, more so than before. 

Luz helped me to my feet. I was still blushing, but I managed to find it in me to laugh along with them.

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy, this is probably the first full-length fanfiction I've ever written, and I wrote it back in October. I didn't know how to tag it (sorry) but I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!


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